It’s been almost a decade since Martin McDonagh emerged as a major filmmaking talent with his feature debut “In Bruges,” and five since his unforgettable riff on Quentin Tarantino in “Seven Psychopaths.” The Irish playwright has been absent from the big screen since then, but that’s finally about to change this year thanks to “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

McDonagh has been talking about the project for quite some time. Back in 2010, he revealed to The Guardian that “Billboards” concerned a 50-year-old woman whose daughter is murdered. In an act of retribution, she goes to war with the police in her home town because “she thinks they are more interested in torturing black people than getting justice.”

That small plot tease alone makes it clear this will probably be McDonagh’s most socially relevant film to date. Francis McDormand, who hasn’t had a major role since winning the Emmy for HBO’s “Olive Kitteridge” in 2015, is playing the lead role. Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell star as members of the police force.

Fox Searchlight is expected to release “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” this year, and it could even end up at Cannes. Watch the debut trailer below.